Eid-ul- Fitr [July 29, 2014] also known as Feast of Breaking the Fast, the Sugar Feast, the Sweet Festival and the Lesser Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by the Muslims worldwide. It marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer.

Eid Ul-Fitr History:-

Eid ul-Fitr was originated by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to certain traditions, this festival was initiated in Madinah after the migration of Muhammad from Mecca.

Eid ul-Fitr Celebrations:-

Eid-ul-Fitr is also observed with great enthusiasm. Many Muslims attend communal prayers, decorate their houses, prepare luscious traditional sweets and cuisines, wear new clothes, listen to a khutba (sermon), and give zakat al-Fitr (charity in the form of food) during Eid ul-Fitr.

Significance Of Eid ul-Fitr:-

For Muslims, Eid ul-Fitr is an occasion for showing gratitude to God and remembering him, and is an occasion of recreation and merriment.

Eid Mubarak!

So send these beautiful ecards to say Eid Mubarak to all your friends, family and loved ones.

International Women’s Day originally known as working Women’s Day is celebrated every year on 8th March. It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. The first National Women’s Day in the US was celebrated on February 28th, 1909. The main reason behind celebrating this day is to show appreciation and love towards women to for women’s economic, political, and social achievements.

Whether it’s your mom, wife, sis, grandma, aunt, neighbor, colleague or friend, let’s show appreciation to the women who have had the biggest but quietest influence in our lives with these special Happy Women’s Day cards!

Diwali (3rd Nov, 2013) also known as Deepavali or the festival of lights, is the brightest festival, celebrated all over the world. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha, or nirvana by Mahavira. Arya Samajists, celebrate this day as Death Anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. They also celebrate this day as Shardiya Nav-Shasyeshti.

5 DAYS OF DIWALI:-

Diwali is a 5-day festival which usually falls between mid-October and mid-November.

DAY 1:- Dhanteras- The festival starts with Dhanteras, which is considered as an auspicious day. On this day, most Indian businesses make customary purchases of precious metal.

DAY 2:- Naraka Chaturdasi – It commemorates the killing of the evil demon Narakasura by Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu).

DAY 3:- Amavasya – It marks the worship of Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth).

DAY 4:-Kartika Shudda Padyami– On this day Bali would come out of Pathala Loka and rule Bhuloka as per the boon given by Lord Vishnu. Hence, it is also known as Bali Padyami.

DAY 5:-Yama Dvitiya– On this day brothers and sisters meet in order to express their love and affection and sisters pray for their brothers for their long and happy lives.

EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH DIWALI:-

There are several events associated with Diwali:-

The return of Lord Ram after 14 years of exile.

The Killing of Narakasura.

Return of Pandavas after 12 years of exile and one year of living incognito.

WHAT HAPPENS ON DIWALI:-

Diwali is an official holiday in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Malaysia, Singapore etc. It involves decorating the homes and workplaces with clay lamps, candles and small electric lights. The celebrants keep these lights on during the night and clean their houses in order to welcome Goddess Lakshmi. They wear new clothes, make rangoli, share sweets and snacks with their loved ones and burst firecrackers at night. Thus, Diwali epitomizes the triumph of good over evil.

Halloween also known as All Hallows’ Eve ,is celebrated every year in various countries on the 31st October, a day before All Saints ’ Day(1st November) .

History of Halloween:-

The origin of Halloween is typically linked to the Celtic festival Samhain, which marks the end of harvest season and beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. It is believed that on the festival of Samhain, the veil between the human and the supernatural worlds is the thinnest. Spirits, both good and evil, roams the earth. The souls of the dead are also said to revisit their homes. Thus, this date later became known as All Hallows’ Eve during early Christian times and is a time to pray for the dead and honor the saints.

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Eid ul-Adha is also called The Feast of the Sacrifice, Kurban Bayram, Eid-e-Qurban, and Bakr Eid, is an important religious festival which is celebrated with traditional fervor and gaiety by Muslims worldwide. In the lunar Islamic calendar, Eid ul-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Muslims around the world believe that Allah (God) commanded Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Ibrahim followed God’s order, but his son was replaced by a sheep at the last moment. Thus, Eid-ul-Adha is, according to Islamic teaching, a time for Muslims to learn the value of self-denial by making a sacrifice to God.

National, state and local government offices are closed on this special day. Muslims wear new clothes and attend an open air prayer meeting. They may sacrifice a sheep or goat and share the meat with family members, neighbors and the poor.

The underlying importance of this festival is the spirit of sacrifice in memory of Abraham’s great act of faith many centuries ago.

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Durga Puja – the ceremonial worship of the mother goddess, is one of the most important festivals of India, where goddess Durga, is worshiped with great passion and devotion. Apart from being a religious festival for the Bengali Hindus, it is also an occasion for reunion and rejuvenation, and a celebration of traditional culture and customs. While the festival includes ten days of worship, the last four days – Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Maha Dashami – are celebrated with much gaiety and grandeur.

In West Bengal and Tripura, which has a majority of Bengali Hindus, it is the largest festival of the year. In Bengal, Durga Puja is also Sharadiya Pujo (‘autumnal worship’), Sharodotsab (‘festival of autumn’), Maha Pujo (‘grand puja’), Maayer Pujo (‘worship of the Mother’) or merely as Puja or Pujo.

Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil.

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The National Day of the People’s Republic of China is celebrated every year on October 1. The People’s Republic of China was founded on October 1, 1949. The National Day marks the start of one of the two Golden Weeks in the People’s Republic of China. The National Day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The government organizes variety of festivities including concerts and fireworks.

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The Chinese moon festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar, on a full moon night. This year it falls on the 19th of September. The festival is also known as the Mid- Autumn Festival and celebrates 3 fundamental concepts of gathering, thanksgiving and praying. An important part of the festival is moon worship and offerings are made to the Moon Goddess of immortality- Chang’e. Carrying brightly lit lanterns of floating sky lanterns is a notable part of celebrating the festival.

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The Jewish Holiday Sukkot also known as the feast of booths is celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is celebrated after the Day of Atonement- Yom Kippur and lasts for 7 days. The Hebrew word Sukkot is plural for Sukkah- which means booth or tabernacle, it is a four walled structure which is covered with palm leaves. During the entire holiday people eat their meals inside the Sukkah. This year Sukkot is celebrated from the 18th– 25th of September. Happy Sukkot!

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Yom Kippur is the second of the two ‘High Holy Days’. It is celebrated 10 days after Rosh Hashanah and this year falls on the 13th of September. Yom means ‘Day’ and Kippur means ‘to atone’; therefore it is known as a ‘Day of Atonement’. For Jews it is the holiest day of the year and most Jews spend the day in intense prayer, many also fast. ErevYom Kippur or the Eve of Yom Kippur is celebrated with Festive meals and giving charity. Greeting cards conveying wishes and blessings are also sent.

According to Judaism, God inscribes every person’s fate for the coming year in the ‘Book of life’ on Rosh Hashanah, and 10 days later on Yom Kippur the ‘Book’ is sealed.